more on this theme | more from this thinker | more from this text
Full Idea
In the community all mutual exchanges are made on the assumption that the parties to them stand to gain.
Gist of Idea
All exchanges in a community are for mutual benefit
Source
Plato (The Republic [c.371 BCE], 369c)
Book Ref
Plato: 'The Republic', ed/tr. Lee,Desmond [Penguin 1988], p.118
A Reaction
The sole purpose of his society appears to be trading, either of goods or of services. The assumption is that if each individual were self-sufficient there would be no society, which strikes me as unlikely. Aristotle offers a better picture.
Related Idea
Idea 19889 People need society because the individual has too many needs [Plato]